It was only right that Morgan Jones scored Louisville’s first points on Sunday.
She’d lit up those same nets for Florida State plenty of times over the past four years as a Seminole but transferred to Louisville following the 2021-22 season.
Where scoring was at a premium for both teams early on, Jones settled back into a rhythm at her old home and scored a season-high 25 points in Louisville’s 82-75 win at Florida State.
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The Seminoles led for most of the game but a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter put Louisville ahead less than two minutes into the final frame. Olivia Cochran and Jones knocked down baskets before a 3-pointer from Chrislyn Carr gave the Cardinals a 58-57 advantage.
FSU went back in front with four quick points but a 10-2 run provided the Cardinals with some cushion. Jones had to leave the fourth quarter at the 5:55 mark after picking up her fourth foul but came back a few minutes later and continued to make her presence known. FSU had trimmed U of L’s lead down to one possession, 74-72, when Jones was fouled on a putback, nailing the 3-point play for the 77-72 lead.
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Jones and the Cardinals put together one of their strongest fourth-quarter performances of the season against a rolling Seminoles team that was coming off an upset victory over No. 11 N.C. State on Thursday. That included a defensive performance that held ACC leading scorer and true freshman Ta’Niya Latson to only 11 points, down significantly from her 25-point average on the year. Cardinals guard Hailey Van Lith was key on both ends of the floor with 20 points, eight defensive rebounds and five steals despite turning the ball over seven times.
Louisville (14-6, 5-2 ACC) returns home to play Boston College at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Alexis_Cubit.
